India's Metro man E Sreedharan favours government funding for metro rail projects instead of implementing them on public private partnership model (PPP) model.

He feels private sector funding for such mass transportation projects impede their speedy completion and threaten their viability. Sreedharan is learnt to have said this to a leading media after attending the convocation of GEMS B-School, Mysore Maharaja Institute of Higher Education as chief guest.

Addressing the students at the convocation, Sreedharan said the Metro reduced over 200 road accidents deaths every year in Delhi. He added that the punctuality performance of Delhi Metro stood at 99.97 percent. The maximum delay of Delhi metro train would be 60 seconds, he added.

Both Konkan railway and Delhi Metro projects were rich experiences. During the Delhi Metro project execution, DMRC used to hold meetings with locals on issues like water supply and power supply disruption. DMRC kept them informed about the project. Hence it was a success, Sreedharan said.

Asked how greenery was maintained during the execution of the Delhi Metro project, Sreedharan said for each tree that was felled, 10 saplings were planted.